


The Phantasm

by Marlc



Category: Batman: The Animated Series
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Character Death, No Romance, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Swearing, probably references to childhood trauma but idk yet, you may notice i do this often
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26039065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marlc/pseuds/Marlc
Summary: Rewrite of Masque of the Phantasm but I do whatever I want and it's Andrea's POV.
Relationships: Andrea Beaumont & Bruce Wayne
Kudos: 1





	The Phantasm

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry I said I was gonna update my other fic and then started a whole other one U-U this is my first offense and I promise once I have my life back under control I will update I just rlly need a snack

Hours of scouting, monitoring, and planning. She’d known about this meeting and its attendants for long enough to finally put her plot into motion. All the men here, and it was all about plucking one of them off; Chuckie Sol, the head of tonight's meeting. Not her highest priority, but the first domino in the chain.

Well past Gotham’s witching hour, she creeps down into the empty parking garage. Any minute now, Chuckie would come down unaware of what was waiting for him. Nothing to interrupt them, nothing to stop tonight from happening. The _Phantasm_ was ready for revenge. 

Chuckie comes running much faster than expected, and far more panicked than called for. Andrea only has a split second to piece that together before she slides into place, ready to put on a play.

“Chuckie Sol,” the voice modulator in her mask growls out as she steps out from the shadows.

“Batman! How did you get here?!” Chuckie hesitates as he scrambles to find a way out. Batman is a name Andrea has heard a limited number of times outside of Gotham. Vigilantes were a factor she was ready to bet on, but not this early in the game.

The Phantasm stalks forward as Chuckie starts shooting, the bullets bouncing straight off her protective suit. “Your angel of death awaits,” she says as he backs away. There’s a little bit of satisfaction in the man’s useless struggle, but it’s nowhere as good as when she’s done with him.

“You ain’t the Bat,” the Phantasm slices the man’s gun clean in half in his feeble attempt to defend himself. “Who- who are you? What do you want?”

“I want _you_ , Chuckie boy,” she winds her scythe back for a crippling blow, but just as she’s distracted by the sound of a nearby car swerving away, Chuckie makes a break for it. He dives for his car, gets in, and immediately puts it in gear to ram into his attacker. A change of plans on her end, but Andrea is flexible, and Chuckie doesn’t know what’s coming for him.

He swerves forward, but the Phantasm dives forward, cracking the windshield and just barely reaching his throat over the hood of the car. She’s knocked off as he makes a sharp turn and hits the ground hard as he rebounds. “Ugh-!” even with bulletproof armor on, getting thrown off a moving car onto concrete hurts like hell. She just barely recovers before the car is turning around heading towards her again, and she just has split second to figure out her next actions before he’s upon her.

“This time I’ve got you, you lousy, stinking-“ before he can finish, the Phantasm is gone in a puff of smoke. The easy way out is to let him finish the job for her, so she watches as he rams into the concrete walls and descends 100 feet into a nearby building. It’s not quite as personal as deserved, but she’s spent far too long here and needs to book it as soon as she’s caught her breath. Just as she runs for the exit a shadow comes in from the other side, and at the risk of being caught, she stops to turn around. Just as she sees the Batman, he sees her, and she leaves in the opposite direction before another encounter can begin. She’s gone in a smokescreen, and her pursuer doesn’t have a chance of finding her if he tried.

The issue with having an incredibly convoluted plan to sneak into a city a night early to keep anyone from suspecting you of murder is you have to get back undetected. The Phantasm is dropped off in a safe house, but Andrea Beaumont dons a disguise and enough cash to make a comfortable escape to go untraceable into the night. She makes it out of the city and back at the airport well into when the night becomes the morning and prepares for the act she’ll have to put on tomorrow. She’ll check the news when she’s back in Gotham, but right now she’s got a flight to catch.

A few hours later, Andrea is back on a flight to Gotham. She barely has any time to rest or reminisce over where she is before she’s getting a call from Arthur Reeves. The last man she wants to speak to right now, but in keeping up appearances, one must stick to the script.

Andrea doesn’t particularly like Arthur. He’s familiar, reminds her of times she was happier, but he’s also incredibly annoying. He’s needy, he constantly pushes her boundaries, and overall he’s slimy and the exact type of person she resents for letting her father die. It’s clear he wants something more from her than a business relationship, and she’s willing to play his game as long as she gets what she wants. As far as she’s concerned, he’s a convenient plot device.

“I should be landing any minute. It’ll be good to see you again, Arthur,” after going along with his small talk, she can’t help but let a bit of insincerity fall into her voice at that statement. Her words fall flat, but she knows he won’t notice. Men like him don’t care enough to pick up that women are tired of them.

“You too. And don’t worry about a thing. We’ll clear up these old family finances. Don’t forget, you’ve got a big-time city councilman on your side.” He can’t go 5 seconds without reminding her of how important he is.

“I can’t believe it’s been 10 years,” Andrea quickly changes the subject before silence can set in.

“Thinking of… looking up some old friends?” Arthur speaks in such a way it makes her regret getting his help. It’s not the first time he’s asked, and God knows he won’t be able to live if Andrea doesn’t constantly reaffirm she’s available.

“Oh, Arthur, don’t start that again. He’s… ancient history.”

“That’s encouraging. See you soon,” the click of the phone signals it’s over, and just as quick Andrea feels the weight of the past 12 hours finally settle. She so, so tired. Being back in Gotham is tiring.

By the time they set down, it’s back to business. Meeting tomorrow, dinner that night… and if she has time, maybe she’ll be able to say goodbye to her mother. Being here for her reasons reminds her of everything she’ll have to leave behind for a second time, and the last person she had before abandoning everything for the illusion of protecting her remaining family.

They met right after her mother died. At the time they weren’t really friends; just the culmination of odd meetings and mutual events. But Bruce Wayne was an incredibly empathetic person, and she couldn’t help but warm up to him over time. They shared a level of pain that went undeclared but defined why they could stand each other and encouraged each other to be better. And maybe they were both trying to be better because they regretted the circumstances that lead them to where they were.

But they bonded and became something like friends. When Bruce decided he wanted to learn how to fight, Andrea offered to train with him. “I’ll be your sparring partner. We can learn, together,” she’d offered, and he’d accepted. Over time it was clear to her it was more than just self-protection or vanity, but about that same regret they shared. It was fine, because he respected her, and so she valued him.

The day she had to leave, he called her. “I want to talk to you about something,” he’d said in a way that made her think he’d made up his mind about something, “Meet me tomorrow.” She thought she would, but the next thing she knew, that night her father was telling her to pack her things and be ready to leave at the drop of a dime. And maybe she would have struggled more, or tried to fix the issue, but has she ever challenged her daddy? After years of harassment and guilt, what was she going to do other than grasp onto familiarity uselessly? She knew the answer was nothing because it’d gotten that far. So that night she willingly left, in her mind to never return.

She and Bruce, they used to be close. Close in a way that made people ask stupid questions about the nature of their friendship. It was annoying then, and annoying now, but she can’t help but miss it now. She could have come back to make amends with the last person she had, but she wouldn’t be able to let herself live if she knew the people who hurt her for so many years still walked the earth. Even if it meant she could never go back home.

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't my first time writing but it is for smth as popular as batman.... v embarrassed might fuck around and go off the grid


End file.
